The Dzawada’enuxw First Nation files lawsuit against Canada on fish farms dispute

National Observer January 10, 2019:

Dzawada’enuxw First Nation community members, including matriarchs, elected and traditional leaders, and artists, were in Vancouver Thursday to announce their decision to sue the Government of Canada.

The First Nation, from Kingcome Inlet, B.C., filed a statement of claim in federal court in Vancouver on Thursday, arguing the federal government authorized licenses for fish farms operating in their waters, without their consultation or consent.

The claim says the fish farm operations pollute and poison wild salmon and infringe on the nation’s constitutionally protected rights. Their case is the first ever rights-based challenge to the federal licensing process that fish farm companies rely on to operate along the coast of B.C.

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About Jack Woodward, Q.C.

Located in Campbell River, BC Jack Woodward, Q.C., is a lawyer, author, teacher, farmer and beekeeper, with a life-long specialty in Aboriginal law. Author of Native Law, the foremost reference work in the field, and counsel on several of the leading cases which helped to shape the law, he is a frequent public speaker and commentator on developments in Aboriginal law.